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Tsuga heterophylla
| Common name: |
Western Hemlock |
Family: |
Pinaceae |
| Author: |
(Raf.)Sarg. |
Botanical references: |
11, 60, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Tsuga albertiana ((A.Murr.)Sénécl.) |
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Western N. America - Alaska to N. California. |
| Habitat: |
Forests, especially where moist and especially in deep forests[60]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Abies albertiana[G]
Abies heterophylla[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Westelijk Hemlockspar [D], Western Hemlock [H,P,B,DEN1,FEIS], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
heterophylla = differently leaved;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Pinales. Pine family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Canada(Kwakiutl); Canada(Nootka); Canada(Salish)
|
Physical Characteristics
An evergreen tree growing to 70m by 15m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil.
It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Hedge, Woodland, Canopy.Edible Uses
Condiment; Gum; Inner bark; Tea.
Inner bark - raw or cooked[213, 257]. It can be dried, ground into a
powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when
making bread[161]. It has also been used as a sweetener for other foods[257].
The inner bark was often cooked and then dried for use in the winter[256]. At
its best in spring[172], it was one of the staple foods of the Alaskan
Indians[82]. An emergency food, it is only used when all else fails[183].
The leaves and twigs yield 'spruce oil', used commercially to flavour
chewing gum, soft drinks, ice cream etc[183].
Pitch, obtained from crevices in the bark, has been chewed as a gum[257].
The leaves and young shoots have been chewed as an emergency food to keep
one alive when lost in the woods[257].
A herbal tea is made from the leaves and shoot tips[172, 183]. These tips
are also an ingredient of 'spruce beer'[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Astringent; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Poultice; Skin.
Western hemlock was commonly employed medicinally by several native
North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a variety of
complaints[257]. It is little, if at all, used in modern herbalism.
The bark is astringent, diaphoretic and diuretic[21]. A decoction of the
pounded bark has been used in the treatment of haemorrhages, tuberculosis and
syphilis[257]. The boiled bark, combined with liquorice fern (Polypodium
glyccyrhiza), has been used in the treatment of haemorrhages[257].
An infusion of the inner bark or twigs is helpful in the treatment of kidney
or bladder problems[21]. It can also be used as a good enema for treating
diarrhoea and as a gargle or mouthwash for mouth and throat problems[21].
Externally, it can be used as a wash on sores and ulcers[21, 257]. A poultice
of the plant has been applied to bleeding wounds[257]. A moxa of the twigs
has been used to get rid of warts[257].
The powdered bark can be put into shoes for tender or sweaty feet or for
foot odour[21].
The gum obtained from the trunk has been applied to cuts[257]. It has been
applied to the skin to prevent chapping and sunburn[257].
A poultice of the chewed leaves has been used in the treatment of
burns[257].
Other Uses
Dye; Fuel; Hedge; Parasiticide; Resin; Rust; Tannin; Wood.
Yields a resin similar to Abies balsamea, it is gathered by incisions
in the trunk or by boiling the wood[46, 61, 64].
The bark contains 8 - 18% tannin and is a major source of tannin in
America[46, 82, 171, 226].
A reddish-brown dye is obtained from the bark[21, 46, 257].
A decoction of the bark has been used to clean rust off iron and steel[257].
A pitch (called hemlock pitch), is obtained by distillation of the young
branches[46].
The pitch is rubbed on the hair to get rid of head lice[257].
Tolerant of light trimming, plants can be grown as a hedge[81]. This species
makes a good hedge in Britain[124, 200].
Wood - light, hard, tough, easy to work. Commercially superior to other
members of this genus, it is an important tree for construction, the outside
of buildings etc and for carving into spoons etc[46, 61, 82, 171, 226, 229].
It is also a major source of pulp[226]. The wood makes a slow-burning fuel
and so can be used to bank up a fire to keep it burning overnight[257].
Cultivation details
An easily grown plant, it thrives best when growing in a deep
well-drained soil in the western parts of Britain where it appreciates the
higher rainfall[11]. However, it succeeds in most soils and positions, being
especially good on acidic sandy soils[81] but also tolerating some lime[11]
so long as there is plenty of humus in the soil[208]. Plants are very shade
tolerant when young, but need more sunlight as they grow older[81, 200].
Plants are thin and poor when grown in dry or exposed places[200].
Occasionally cultivated for its timber in Britain, it can grow 60 - 150cm
per year[11, 185]. New growth takes place from mid-May to mid-September, at
first it hangs downwards but begins to straighten towards the end of the
season[185]. There are trees more than 50 metres tall in Britain[200].
Trees live for several centuries in the wild and often produce large
quantities of seed[229].
Plants often form pure stands and cast a dense shade, thus preventing the
regeneration of other trees whilst being able to reproduce itself[226].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Propagation
Seed - it germinates better if given a short cold stratification[80,
113] and so is best sown in a cold frame in autumn to late winter. It can
also be sown in early spring, though it might not germinate until after the
next winter. If there is sufficient seed, an outdoor sowing can be made in
spring[78]. Pot-grown seedlings are best potted up into individual pots once
they are large enough to handle - grow them on in a cold frame and plant them
out in early summer of the following year. Trees transplant well when they
are up to 80cm tall, but they are best put in their final positions when they
are about 30 - 45 cm or less tall, this is usually when they are about 5 - 8
years old[200]. Larger trees will check badly and hardly put on any growth
for several years. This also badly affects root development and wind
resistance[200].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
PFAF Web Pages
This plant is mentioned in the following web pages
Web References
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
- [DEN] Data _ Photos
(Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
- [FEIS] Data
(Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
References for the family Pinaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[64] Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber
A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
[80] McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985 ISBN 0-901361-21-6
Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
[81] Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X
Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.
[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
[124] RHS. The Garden. Volume 113. Royal Horticultural Society 1988
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including details on Podophyllum, Canna and Protea species.
[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.
[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.
[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[185] Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975 ISBN 0-11-710012-9
A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.
[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.
[256] Turner. N. J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples UBC Press. Vancouver. 1995 ISBN 0-7748-0533-1
Excellent little handbook about the native food plants of Western Canada. Good descriptions of the plants and their uses with colour photos of most plants.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
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Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Tsuga+heterophylla
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Tsuga+heterophylla
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